Become a adolescent therapist?

Question

Hello! I am a 13 year old girl, and in my future i want to become an early adolescent therapist. Possibly i could work as an asylum therapist, or just a regular family therapist.

I know i will probably change my mind many times before i get into college, but all my life i had been wanting to help people, and become a therapist. I understand i will have to go to college for this, and probably additional years also.

So my question is, is there any way i could prepare my self now in life for that job? NO i am not saying i want to waste my childhood, or rush my life, but once i acheive my goal of becoming a therapist, i want to be the best i can be!

My aunt is a family/adolescent therapist, and i love what she does, and i love to help people and get into peoples minds, so i just want to know if there is anyway i could get better at this at my age right now.

Thank you so much beforehand!

Answer 1

Just read. That's the best you can do at your age.

Make a list of what you should read about so you can cover a few areas. For example, do searches and read about these things:

1. Famous psychologists of the past and today: http://www.psychnet-uk.com/training_ethi... Get to know what they wrote, why they wrote what they did, etc.

2. Counseling theoretical orientations - read about each one and know what the difference is between them and who are the major players in each: http://psychologytoday.com/pto/methods.h...

3. Know the difference between a counseling psychologist and a clinical psychologist: http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/arti...

4. Start learning VOCABULARY NOW, it will be important when you take the GRE - the test you will have to take to get into a psychology graduate program. This test is not hard if you start learning vocabulary early... if you wait and cram when time comes, or just hope you pick up words on your own till then, you will not be as competitive. How you do on this test will determine what school you get into, and the better the school, the higher the GRE score it requires.

4. Start getting fast at MATH. Look at the kind of questions that you will have on the GRE, and when you encounter those kind of problems in school, pay special attention to them. Also, practice GRE math problems as many times as you can, this way you will get fast and good at it. My problem wasn't that I didn't know the material, but that I wasn't fast enough, because there is a time limit, so get fast at it; knowing it is not enough!

5. Learn what the GRE is about and practice when you can; be familiar with the type of questions on the test: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menui...

6. Get familiar with the American Psychological Association, or APA: http://www.apa.org/

These are some resources to get you started. Of course you can just skim each one and get an idea of what it's about, OR you can start here and dig into these things if you want to learn more. Good luck to you and I admire your wish to help others through their journey in life!

Oh and one other thing... go to a college in your state so you don't accummulate TONS of student loans!! If you really want to work with needy people that most need your help, be prepared to not get paid much!! Most of the time, helping the most vulnerable population means helping the population with less money and serious problems. If you get far into debt because of school, you will not be able to afford helping these people. You will be forced to do something you don't like as much with your degree just so you can pay off your loans.  

Answer 2

I'm very impressed by your enthusism and intelligence! If you do pursue your interests all the way to graduate school, I have faith that you will make a highly competent mental health professional ;)

I totally agree with cavassi. I think volunteer work is one of the biggest ways you can become involved in various fields. You can volunteer at shelters, nursing homes, and maybe later (I'm not sure what the age requirement is) get trained as a suicide hotline volunteer. There are tons of opportunities to get involved. You say your aunt is a therapist.. well there you go! Maybe she can be your "mentor." Ask her tons of questions; she is a big source of information!

They say that the best therapists have the most self-awareness and self-knowledge, so I would recommend that you enter therapy for personal growth and insight. This will benefit you both personally and professionally. The more you know yourself and become confident in who you are, the better you will be able to help people in their journey toward improvement.

You are young, so I would also recommend that you enjoy your youth! The friendships you create now will teach you so much about life and will strengthen you. There will also be many painful experiences in your life--if you use those experiences as opportunities to learn and grow, you will be on the way to becoming whatever you wish to be. Good luck in your journey!

Answer 3

I think you should involve yourself in volunteer work.  Get to know people and help them and learn about the situations that affect their lives.  It won't hurt no matter what field you go into.